


Homeless

by Svarto



Series: Sonic Boom Oneshots [1]
Category: Sonic Boom (Cartoon), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Dr. Eggman has a heart, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Homelessness, One Shot, Pre-Canon, Starvation, Team as Family, Trans Sonic the Hedgehog, mild eggdad, one (1) curse word
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:55:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26677795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Svarto/pseuds/Svarto
Summary: Eggman notices Sonic and Tails are struggling with robots they used to have no trouble with, so he decides to capture them for questioning, and makes an interesting discovery in the process.this takes place a few years before the series.
Relationships: Dr. Eggman | Dr. Robotnik & Miles "Tails" Prower, Dr. Eggman | Dr. Robotnik & Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower & Sonic the Hedgehog
Series: Sonic Boom Oneshots [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1886470
Comments: 23
Kudos: 159





	Homeless

Eggman looked at the monitors, studying the two tweens he had captured in his lair. Well, they weren’t _really_ captured. He’d purposely left the key to the cells in the room Sonic was in, and he’d seen the hedgehog take said key and sneak out to go to Tails’ cell in the room over during the night, only to then _go back to his own cell_ _to sleep_. So he knew for a fact that they could escape whenever they wanted, what he was currently trying to understand why they didn’t seem to want to.

He had only known the two of them for about half a year now, and yet they’d still managed to destroy hundreds of his robots in that timeframe, proving to be consistent nuisances. It was incredibly aggravating, he couldn’t get any of his plans done around here with them around, plus it didn’t help that they seemed to be competing in who could annoy him the most while they fought. In spite of all that, he’d found himself growing rather fond of their antics, enjoying the process of trying to formulate new plans to destroy or capture them, combined with their regular banter. 

This was why when he’d noticed them both getting slower with taking down his bots, he'd gotten… Curious. 

Typically, their battles wouldn’t last more than a couple of minutes, and the two tweens would take down his badniks without trouble, throwing in quips as they did. But over the past month, they’d been getting sloppier. Their battles had been dragging out longer and longer, their close calls were much closer, and their usual jokes were all but gone, replaced instead with stretches of silent focus. Eggman had decided he needed to investigate.

So yesterday, he’d decided to give them a little test. He’d reused a bot from a couple of months ago that they’d taken down in seconds the first time, and within minutes he’d had them both captured. Then he’d left them within arms reach of the key, to see how quickly they would escape, only to find that they apparently did not want to. Did they get captured on purpose as well, then? He sighed, taking a sip of his coffee, trying to understand what was going on with them. 

He stared more intently at the video footage of the cells. The fox kit was still curled up sleeping, which was expected as it was relatively early, while Sonic lay awake in his cot, bouncing his leg and staring directly into the security camera. It was slightly unnerving, it felt like he could actually see Eggman through the camera lens… He would have to remember to make them less obvious in the future.

“Sir? I’ve got the food!” Came a robotic voice from behind him, interrupting his thoughts. He turned in his chair to see Cubot floating in the doorway, holding two trays with cheese sandwiches and orange juice. Eggman stood up from his chair, scowling at the badnik. 

“Took you long enough! I seriously need to finish the design for the orbot series…” he grumbled, walking over and snatching one of the trays from it, “You go give your tray to the two-tailed goober, and make sure he wakes up for it!” He ordered before marching out the door, not waiting for a response. He made his way down the hall, stopping briefly in front of the door to Sonic’s cellblock to ready himself, trying to make sure he still looked threatening. 

After smoothing out his mustache and clothes, he pressed the button to open the door, standing in the doorframe menacingly for a moment before striding in, glowering down at the hedgehog. Sonic looked up from his cot and grinned, waving cheerfully. This kid never appreciated the effort he put into his entrances… 

“Heya, Eggy! Aw, breakfast in bed? What’s the occasion?” The hedgehog teased, shifting to a sitting position. Eggman only narrowed his eyes, silently sliding the tray under the door. The teen paused only a moment before eagerly grabbing it, scarfing down the sandwich and juice. 

“We have to talk.” He started. He watched the hedgehog feign shock, momentarily ignoring his sandwich to put a hand over his chest. 

“Oh no, you’re having an affair??” Eggman let out a frustrated sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“No, it’s–”

“You’re not inviting me to your birthday party!?” 

“This is serious, you miserable rodent! Shut up and listen!!”

“Sorry, sorry,” he said, smirking while finishing off the sandwich, licking his fingers clean, “You have my _undivided attention,_ Eggbrain.”

“You better be paying attention! Now, first off, I want you to explain to me why you wanted to be captured.” This caused the hedgehog to furrow his brows, tilting his head to the side in clearly false confusion.

“Whaddya mean? I didn’t _want_ to be captured! You’ve just gotten _way_ better at catching me, I guess.” Eggman rolled his eyes, mentally making note of how terrible this kid was at lying.

“Mm, no, you see, I reused a robot that was a total failure last time to _test_ you, and it captured you _easily._ I also know that you have the key to this cell, as I left it out for you and _saw_ you take it, so from all that, I can only conclude that you _want_ to be here,” He stepped closer to the bars, watching how the kid’s grin faltered for a moment, “I want to know _why._ ” 

They stared at each other in silence for a few seconds, Sonic’s smile growing more obviously strained as he tried to think of a good excuse. He eventually looked away, bouncing his leg while he set the food tray down next to him. Eggman was just about to repeat his question when the hedgehog finally replied.

“We were hungry.”

Eggman blinked in confusion.

“...What?” 

“We’ve been living off some money we won at a fair last year, plus whatever people are kind enough to give us after we save them, but that ran out a few weeks ago, so we haven’t really… been able to eat…” There was a brief moment of silence before he rambled on, “And, well, I remembered that last time you captured us you offered food, and these beds are more comfy than the ground, so we decided to stay the night. As for getting captured easily, it’s pretty hard to fight on an empty stomach, y’know?” 

Eggman stood there, dumbfounded, trying to think of how to respond. He hadn’t really given much thought to the living situation of the two of them, and while it had occurred that they likely didn’t have parents, he still expected… well, he wasn’t sure. Something other than that they were completely homeless and broke. His first order of business was crushing the sliver of worry he felt for the teen, hardening his eyes once again to maintain his appearance of indifference. 

“So you wanted to mooch off my food and beds, is that it?” He did his best to sound angry about this, glaring the hedgehog down.

“Pretty much, yeah! I can leave now if you’d like.” 

He stared him down again, watching the teen casually swing his feet with an innocent smile. Now that he actually looked closer, he could tell how disheveled the boy actually was. Tired eyes, messy quills, and he was definitely a bit too thin, though It was hard to tell under his fur and oversized clothes just how bad it was. He briefly considered offering a second sandwich, before remembering that he still had a reputation to keep.

“No, hold on, we’re not done. Why are you two on your own? Aren’t there foster homes, or orphanages, or whatnot?” 

“Think we haven’t tried that? They all suck! I grew up in an orphanage on the north side of the island, but they didn’t really handle the...um… the trans thing super well. So when I was 11 I ran away, and Tails came with me ‘cause he was being picked on too. We tried a few others, but they were basically the same, so we gave up after a month or two of that.” 

“And you’ve been alone since then?” 

“Yeah, 2 years now.” 

“Alright, well– wait...” Eggman quickly did some math in his head, doing it twice to make sure he was correct here, “You’re THIRTEEN???” He couldn’t help the emotion that leaked into his voice, a mix of anger, surprise, and his least favorite, concern. The hedgehog however seemed to find this funny, laughing lightly while looking at him as though he was being ridiculous in his response. 

“Yep, thirteen, turned back in June.”

“So you were **_twelve_ ** when we started fighting.” The hedgehog nodded cheerfully as Eggman tried to hide the horror on his face. “And the fox…?”

“Five. Six soon.”

“Holy lyric…”

“What’s the big deal, Egghead? I mean, you’ve gotta have figured out we were young, right?”

“I thought you were a _bit_ older! Believe it or not, I’m actually not too keen on ** _literal child murder._ **” He could see the tween’s eyes light up, ready to jump on what he said.

“Then what’s the issue?? I mean, it’s not like you ever had a chance at actually beating us!” he smirked.

“...Y’know what, Nevermind! I think I’m reconsidering my position on the murder thing now!” he said, only half-joking. Sonic just started laughing again, wordlessly calling his bluff. Eggman bit back a smile himself, before remembering the more pressing matter at hand. This kid had mentioned that they weren’t getting enough food. And implied that they didn’t have anywhere to sleep at night… 

Eggman liked to think of himself as a villain that still held some basic moral values, and one of them was that kids shouldn’t be homeless or starving. It definitely was not just a particular soft spot for these two kids, and he wasn’t even really worried or anything, this just opposed his views in general. But now he had to find a way to help the two of them while making it clear that this _wasn’t_ him caring about them.

“So… you mentioned not having food?” The hedgehog sobered quickly, nodding in response, “Y’know, if you’re willing to give up the whole hero schtick and help me out instead, I have a few extra beds.” Sonic narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms indignantly.

“Tsh, yeah, no. I’d never join you, Eggface!” 

“Very well. Why not take it up with the mayor, then?” The anger on the kid’s face was washed away with confusion.

“Umm. What? Howdya mean?”

“I mean, you’re basically doing the job of a police officer, right? I would have leveled that town by now if not for you – _frustratingly enough_. You should demand to be compensated for that.”

“Isn’t… isn’t that extortion??”

“No, you’re not the one threatening violence! Besides, demanding an underage citizen act as your protective service for free is _much_ more ethically dicey than asking to be paid for your labor.” The teen pondered this for a moment, staring at the iron bars as he thought this over. He wrinkled his brows as he considered it, before grimacing and shaking his head.

“I appreciate the advice, but I don’t want to take resources away from people who really need them. That money could be going to important things, like schools or roads or–” 

Eggman blocked out the rest of the kid’s rambling, trying to process the utter bullshit he’d just heard. 

He couldn’t believe him. A minute earlier he’d admitted to letting himself get captured by an enemy just so that he could get a _prison meal_ , and now he was claiming that he didn’t count as someone “in need”. How thick was he?! The doctor shook his head, reorganizing his thoughts. This wasn’t the fault of the kid, he was just used to being the hero, and didn’t realize that sometimes he was the one in need of help. He seemed deluded as to how mature he actually was, and incredibly overconfident in his ability to take care of himself, even when met with directly contradictory evidence.

And he was still talking. Something about taxpayers… Chaos, he had to put an end to this.

“ ** _Sonic._ **” The teen froze, looking up at him. He didn’t seem used to such a serious tone, or Eggman calling him by his actual name. When the doctor was sure he had his full attention, he continued. 

“You’re someone who needs it. You’re a citizen, that means it’s the government's responsibility to ensure your safety, and food and shelter are essential to that. Besides, if not for yourself, do it for your fox friend. I’m sure I don’t have to explain how damaging malnutrition can be for a child’s development, do I?” The hedgehog pursed his lips before looking away again, sulking against the wall in silence as he thought.

“...why do you care, anyway.” He eventually muttered. 

“I _don’t_! I just don’t want my victory to be because of some handicap, I want to beat you based on _actual skill_.” Sonic perked back up, raising an eyebrow.

“Ooo, I don’t know if you wanna commit to that rule! Not if you ever want to win, that is,” he grinned, easily bouncing back to his jokes.

“Oh I will, one day! You wait and see, rat!” He spat, letting his anger take control for a moment before realizing what the hedgehog was doing, “Wait, hold on, don’t change the subject! I’m serious about this!” 

Sonic groaned, slouching back again as he rubbed his eyes. The longer this conversation went on the more obvious his exhaustion was. It was a miracle that he hadn’t gotten injured or captured earlier, he looked like he hadn’t slept properly in weeks. How could he not see that he was decaying from living like this? 

Perhaps he could, but the sense of pride he had from doing things himself was preventing him from seeking help from others. Eggman would have to find a way to convince him to do that, even if just to avoid his own resources being drained to keep this kid alive. He noticed the rodent shift again, opening his mouth to speak.

“Look, I just–”

Just as he started, the door slid open, causing them both to look over and see Tails standing in the doorframe.

“Sonic, aren't we gonna esca–?” The kit started, before fully processing what he was looking at and shifting to a fighting stance, revving up his namesakes. Eggman still had to study how exactly those worked… 

“I’ll save you, Sonic!!” He yelled, ready to pounce on the doctor when Sonic stood up.

“Hey! No! It’s ok, I’m not trapped!” He zipped to the front of the cell and opened the door, which he apparently hadn’t even bothered to lock. Eggman nodded, crossing his arms and looking down at the small fox, who waited a moment before cautiously letting his guard down, slowing his twin tails and landing. 

“Oh…”

“Yes, he’s fine. We were just talking about some grown-up things.”

“Yeah, and we’re done now. Let’s go.” The hedgehog started towards the door, grabbing the kit’s hand as he went, but Eggman quickly hit a button on his watch, locking the door to the hall.

“ _No,_ we are _not_ done.”

“Oh, come on! I don’t see what the big deal is!” 

“This is actually a good opportunity to elaborate on that! Foxboy,” He turned to look at the kit, “Do you think that Sonic is doing a good job taking care of the two of you? Be honest, now.” 

Tails faltered, looking first up at the doctor, and then at his brother, clearly trying to figure out what the correct answer was here. Sonic wasn’t looking at him, Instead he had turned to face the doctor, tapping his foot impatiently while he scowled. The fox twisted his namesakes around himself, fidgeting with them nervously as he contemplated his response.

“W-Well… I know he’s trying his best, and I think he’s doing pretty good!” He eventually answered. 

“Pretty good? So there are things he can improve on?” The child gave a tentative nod, “Like...?” he prompted.

“Tails, you don’t need to answer–”

“Now now, Hedgehog, communication is key! Like what, Tails.” The fox still seemed unsure of himself, lowering his voice and looking down, as though that would make this less intimidating to bring up. 

“Umm… Like whenever we find food, he gives most of it to me, which I appreciate, but...I think that he needs more, too,” The fox explained softly. Sonic sighed, running a hand through his quills.

“That’s just because you’re still growing, so I–”

“You’re still growing too!” The fox cried out, suddenly much more self-assured, causing the hedgehog to fall silent, “...I know you’re older than me, but you’re still not an adult either. You should take care of yourself more…I get worried...” 

This left the three of them in a heavy silence, Sonic not looking at either of them anymore, instead opting to stare at the ground, studying the metal tiles. Tails kept fidgeting with his namesakes, biting his lip and glancing between the other two. How had Eggman not noticed how young this kid was earlier? To be fair, it wasn’t often they interacted outside of battles, and the fox acted much more mature and confident during a fight. He observed how the hedgehog finally took a deep breath, turning to the youngest with a lopsided grin.

“...Y’know what? You’re right, bud.” Tails blinked, not used to Sonic admitting a fault.

“Really?”

“Yeah, really.” He turned to Eggman, a glint of annoyance still in his eye, “I’ll talk to the mayor about… this whole thing.”

“Good.” Eggman pressed a few buttons and the door slid open again, “If he says no, come talk to me again. _Now_ you can get out of my lair.”

“Great, finally…” Sonic grumbled, taking Tails’ hand again and pulling him towards the door.

“Wait, what’s going on? Talk to the mayor about what?” The kit questioned, having been given very little context to all this.

“I’ll explain on the way back.”

He scooped the younger one up, racing out of the lair at top speed, probably wanting to distance himself from the conversation physically. Running always seemed to be the solution for him, Eggman pondered. Hopefully he was actually planning on talking to the mayor, and he hadn’t just duped him to avoid continuing this talk. He would have to wait and see, he supposed. 

* * *

It took about a week for him to hear any news. He had stopped by town for lunch, and had just gotten into his eggmobile to fly back to his lair when he heard the familiar sound of the hedgehog zooming up to him, stopping a few meters in front of the vehicle.

“Hey, Eggs, I… uh…” He started, scratching his head.

“Yes?” 

Eggman leaned over the windshield of the eggmobile to look him over. The kid already looked much healthier than the week before, his quills well maintained– or, as ‘maintained’ as they got– and his eyes more full of life. He had to quickly destroy the small glint of relief he felt over seeing the teen like this, reminding himself that he only helped him to even the playing field. That’s right, it was actually _frustrating_ that the teen’s well-being was improving, as it made his goals harder to reach. But it was necessary to keep his values in line. 

“I took your suggestion, and it actually worked out…! They let me claim a shack no one owned on the coast, so we’re working on fixing that up, and, I just wanted to, um…” He trailed off. The fox had flown in while he spoke, landing next to him and waiting for him to finish. When he noticed that the hedgehog was struggling to finish what he was saying, he grinned and turned to the doctor.

“He’s trying to say thank you!” He explained brightly. Sonic looked slightly embarrassed, nodding at his brother's words while firmly focused on anything but Eggman. The doctor smirked at the two of them, resting his chin on his hand.

“How wonderful! Now get out of my sight before I get bored and call in some robots,” He threatened. Sonic rolled his eyes, smiling and brushing off the threat easily.

“Riiiight. See you 'round?” 

“Unfortunately.” 

The teen gave a friendly salute while the kit stuck his tongue out playfully, before both turning and running off toward the beach. Eggman couldn’t help the smile that crept onto his lips as he watched them leave. He would never admit it, but there was certainly a grain of worry that had been lifted from his shoulders that day.

**Author's Note:**

> Drop a kudos or comment if you enjoyed!
> 
> honestly tho the show never addressed how tf these kids could afford to own houses, build machinery, & eat,, so i fixed it


End file.
